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April 13, 2006

Big Business Remittances

Henry and I are working toward producing a show from Watson on May 12. We're hoping to get Chris and the gang in for that Friday to tape a show to be aired sometime this summer.

At this point, we'd like the show to be about the economic possibilities and problems with global remittances.

Possible guests/contacts:

Uche Nworah, an expert on remittances and the Nigerian migrant worker dispora
Dilip Ratha, senior economist at the World Bank and author of Understanding the Importance of Remittances
Joy Zarembka, at the Campaign for Migrant Domestic Worker's Rights
bloggers, bloggers, bloggers
Watson folks and adjuncts.

At this stage in the research, I'm not really seeing what the arc of the show is. Defining the issue, weighing the benefits of localized remittances vs. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), citing the major pitfalls of national reliance on remittances, then the solutions that some countries are trying to answer those problems? Sounds pretty dry-- As Mary would say, there's not much there that's keeping me from switching the dial to the ballgame.

Here are the major issues as I see them:

Scale: the amount of money remitted anually to Africa ($17 billion) rivals the amount of FDI there ($15 billion), and comes close to aid/grants figures. The impact is huge, and not studied much.

Impact: In a survey of the Nigerian diaspora, Uche Nworah found that 96% of respondents said that they contribute to nation building, especially by sending money home. But since only 6% of remittances to Africa are invested, that money might boost disposable incomes and increase educational access by paying tuition bills, but it won't account for large scale change. Also, it won't have an appreciable effect on those families which are so poor that they can't afford to send workers abroad, which might only increase the inequality. Blogger Nebuer attributed inflation to remittances in his native Kerala.

It'll be important to tie into the imigration rights protests, but since our airdate won't be set until mid summer, we won't be able to depend upon the news peg to keep people listening.

More in a bit...

Posted by Greta Pemberton at 10:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 03, 2006

Fire Thunder Challenges South Dakota Abortion Ban

“I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the State of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction.”

Cecilia Fire Thunder, Giago: Oglala Sioux president on state abortion law, Indianz.com, 3/21/06

When Gov. Michael Rounds signed HB1215, the law that will ban all abortions in South Dakota as of July 1 (including those procedures for victims of rape and incest, excepting those that could potentially save the mother's life), he said he "fully expected a legal challenge." He probably didn't expect that the challenge would come from Cecilia Fire Thunder, President of the Oglala Sioux tribe.

The statement aroused quite a bit of interest among LiveJournalers after kathrynt proposed a fundraising campaign to support the proposed clinic. Blogger tezliana did some digging and emailed Planned Parenthood of South Dakota for a statement.

Things are unfolding quickly in South Dakota, so this information may change at any time, but we are not currently planning to establish a clinic on tribal land. While we appreciate Ms. Thunder's support, I believe she made the comment prior to speaking with us about a clinic on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Mark Fredrickson, Email from Planned Parenthood this morning, re: South Dakota, Liana's Little Jungle, 3/23/06

When Cecilia used the name Planned Parenthood, she used the name in reference to an abortion clinic in general. She fully intends to donate land so that a clinic can be built....You can't possibly expect a victim of violence to raise a 100% healthy child.

Vonnie Bush, personal assistant to President Fire Thunder, in a conversation with Open Source, 3/24/06

American Indian women are sexually assaulted at a 3.5 times higher rate than women in all other racial groups. Given these numbers and her background counselling rape victims as a nurse, Fire Thunder says she had to take a stand.

Rather than having our daughters and our women have to drive several states away, as if they were criminals, to protect their own health, we wanted to have a viable option closer to their homes, until this law is struck down. We intend to take the lead to make sure that we live up to our constitution and our own ideals, and respect our female citizens.

Cecilia Fire Thunder, in an email to Open Source, 3/24/06

Could plans for a clinic on tribal lands actually go through? Will this move test the limits of tribal sovereignty? South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long says the state might be able to enforce HB1215 in Indian County "but only against non-Indian women who receive abortions by non-Indian doctors." Could this bring down the law that would bring down Roe?

This is not a matter of an assertion of tribal sovereignty - we already have that. Nor is it a matter of confronting Governor Rounds or the State of South Dakota, it is a matter of upholding federal law, as it now exists. I believe that the South Dakota law banning abortion will be struck down as unconstitutional. We are making it clear that we support the constitutional right of women all over this country, and particularly here in South Dakota, to make their own decisions and their own choices regarding their own health.

Cecilia Fire Thunder, in an email to Open Source, 3/24/06

Posted by Greta Pemberton at 11:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack